Observations on the Fit Life

I have a pretty high pain threshold. I’ve done/had done some things that are by all rights very painful and I’m not a whiner. I can suck it up with the best of them.

Yesterday, I went to the morning run out at Walnut Creek. My back was achey, like labor pains, but what really bugged me was my right leg just had no power. It was sore and hard to pick up, and I felt like I was limping. Afterward, a bunch of folks were heading out for a second loop and I knew it was wrong for me to do it due to how the first loop had felt. It was depressing.

All throughout the day, my back and hip ached. I was definitely limping some, and it was hard to go up the stairs (and if you’ve been to our three-story house, you know that gets old pretty quick).

I was back at the chiropractor today; at first, the younger doctor was working on me. I was telling him about my easy run and how my back felt and the whole right leg thing, and he said to me, “Dr. Sellers is going to tell you not to run.” Dr. Sellers came in and we talked. He was interested in the weakness and did a lot of prodding…and suddenly, he was on to a very tender area.

The two of them worked in tandem to move my leg in ways that brought me to a sweat and, eventually, made me cry. It was clearly the mother of spots, the source of everything. At this point, Dr. Sellers said they needed to bust up the buildup on that ligament, that I had a secondary nerve entrapment cause by scar buildup on the ligament running from the inside of my hip up to the bottom of my tail bone. He said it would be very painful. I laughingly responded that it couldn’t be any worse that what he’d just done to me.

I was wrong.

Because one end is so close to my girly nether regions, I wound up on the massage table with my shorts off and a woman working on me. She busted out a special tool that looked kind of like a heavy-duty spork (but without real points). Basically, she ran this tool up and down the length of the ligament. Slowly. Three times. I have never felt anything so painful in my entire life. Honestly. I utilized my Lamaze breathing and tried to find my happy place, but I cried again. We had to stop twice to let me get my breathing back under control.

Afterward, they put me on ice, some electro-stimulation, and then did some ultrasound. I’m supposed to sit on ice for 20 minutes off and on throughout the day. When I asked about ibuprophen, I got an “Oh, absolutely. You’re going to be really sore.” No exercise of any kind for two days.

I still feel shakey. And it is absolutely amazing how different that area feels.

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Published by Leah Nyfeler

I'm a writer, editor, runner, and adventurer who is always looking for the next new story, exciting adventure, and good meal/book/movie. My focus is on helping people find their best, healthiest self through sharing what I know and how I've come to learn it. In addition to my blog "Enjoying the Journey: Observations on the Fit Life" at www.leahruns100.com, my articles have appeared in a variety of print and online magazines. You can hear me as part of the 2015 Austin cast of Listen To Your Mother.
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